Councillor Nick
Wayne welcomed everyone to the meeting and officers and members
introduced themselves. The procedure
for the conduct of the meeting was outlined.

209.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

210.

Declarations of substitute members

Minutes:

There were no declarations of substitute
members.

211.

Declarations of interest

If you have a DisclosablePecuniary
Interest* in an item of business:

§if it is not yet on the council’s register,
you must declare both the existence and details of
it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes
apparent;

§youmay choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in
the register in the interests of openness and
transparency.

In both the above cases, you
must leave the room without participating in
discussion of the item.

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and
you intend to speak or vote on the item you must
declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the
meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may
participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

(b) Sponsorship -Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of
your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your
election; including from a trade union.

(c) Contracts -Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you
or your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial
interest) and the council.

(d) Land -Any
beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s
area.

(e) Licences-Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a
month or longer.

(f) Corporate tenancies -Any tenancy between the council and a body in which
you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

(g) Securities
-Any beneficial interest in securities
of a body which has a place of business or land in the
council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities
exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share
capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share
capital.

The licensing
officer reported that there was a letter from the applicant to
interested parties which had been circulated separately to the
agenda. There had been no response from
the interested parties to this letter.
This would be interleaved with the agenda papers. There had been no
objections from responsible authorities.

A local resident
raised concerns about the different types of alcohol that would be
sold on the premises. She stated that the 15% of space allocated
for display should be imposed on the room at the rear and that
plans for the premises would need to be amended. She raised concerns that alcohol would not be
served with a meal and waiting staff would have to deal with
customers who were intoxicated. She asked that, should the licence
be granted, there be a condition that sake be the only alcohol
served on the premises.

The
applicant’s representative was happy to accept a condition
that on sales be restricted to sake only. He stated that the back room area had a capacity
for 20 people and this area would be used for tasting. The applicant had over eight years’
experience and the premises was used to sell specialist Japanese
food and tableware. Customers had asked
to taste sake but as it was expensive and did not keep longer than
three days once opened, samples could not be given away. The owner
wished to maintain a quiet environment in the premises. He lived
above the premises and would not want to live above a rowdy
bar. The licence was not transferable
as this was not agreed in the lease.
There had been no complaints about the premises. Similar niche
premises in the area had licences granted. The cumulative impact policy was not absolute,
there would be a capacity of 20 people, the hours fell within
licensing policy 8 and the style of operation was not alcohol
led. The applicant’s
representative stated that this type of premises suited the area,
did not fit with the late night economy and would uphold the
licensing objectives. He stated that there would be a dedicated
operator, and as the application was policy compliant it should be
granted with the conditions proposed.

RESOLVED

1)
That the application for a new premises licence, in respect of
Kojima, Islington High Street, N1 8EG, be granted to allow:-

a)
The sale of alcohol, for consumption on the premises, from 11 am
until 9pm Monday to Sunday.

b)
The premises to be open to the public from 11 am until 9.30pm
Monday to Sunday.

2)
That conditions outlined on page 45 of the agenda shall be applied
to the licence with the following additional condition:-

·
That on sales be restricted to the sale of sake only.

REASONS FOR DECISION

The Sub-Committee
listened to all the evidence and submissions and read all the
material. The Sub-Committee reached the decision having given
consideration to the Licensing Act 2003, as amended, and its
regulations, the national guidance and the Council’s
Licensing Policy.

The licensing
officer reported that there had been no representations from the
responsible authorities. The noise team
had reported no complaints since 2011 when Brewdog had operated at the premises
previously. He stated that there were
tabled documents in support of the application from the applicant
which would be interleaved with the agenda papers.

The applicant
advised of amendments to conditions 33-35 to restrict hours from
9am to 9pm.

The interested
party reported that she had not seen the additional information
until the evening of the meeting. The
Chair advised that there could be a short recess for the interested
party to read the information. The
interested party stated that she would continue with the
hearing.

The interested
party stated that the premises already had a licence for the sale
of alcohol which required food to be served with
alcohol. She raised concerns regarding
the loss of this condition in a sensitive location which had a
number of licensed premises. She stated
that the impact on the area would be considerable. There would be a capacity of 100 people with
another 24 sitting outside with no requirement to eat. There would be the cumulative impact of people
eating/drinking at one location and then moving onto other premises
creating a disturbance to local residents. She considered that the proposal for brewing was a
smokescreen and there was a substantial cumulative impact which had
not been dealt with.

In response to
questions the local resident stated that she would not want outside
drinking, however if a licence was granted to include outside
drinking she would want it restricted to end at 7pm.

The
applicant’s representative stated that Brewdog was a successful business and this branch
would offer a brewing experience, where you could shop and buy and
would have a convivial bar with board games. It was not a loud music venue. There were a number
of licensed premises with later hours in the vicinity with outside
seating. It was proposed to cease use
of the tables and chairs at 10pm. They
had engaged with the resident who lived above the premises and he
had not come back with further comments. They would be closed late night when neighbouring
venues were still open.Brewdog did not equal irresponsible
retailing. The Managing Director stated
that the Brewdog business had begun 10
years ago and now had 50 sites worldwide. A Hopworks had been opened in Glasgow and Manchester
and they had a strong affinity to the home brewing
movement. !0% of the profits went to
the staff and 10% went to a charity of their choice. The business was mission focussed and about the
community. The owners wanted home brewers to have the same benefits
they’d had. The conditions should offer comfort to
residents. About twelve of their
branches were beneath residential property and they had found that
their neighbours were amongst their best customers.

The licensing
officer reported that the hours requested had been amended to 9am
to 11pm on Monday to Sundays. These
hours should also be reflected in condition 12. The opening hours
would be from 7am to 11pm. It was noted
that representation 4 was a representation from a local business
which had a terminal hour of 3am, who was present at the
meeting.

The Chair reported
that the financial impact on another business should not be taken
into account. The application was not
in a cumulative impact area.

The interested
party, through a translator, stated that his premises was just
doors away and if this licence was granted it would kill his
business. Applications should benefit
the area and not make it worse. There
were four or five business that were identical and many businesses
of this type would not improve the area.

The
applicant’s representative stated that the interested party
had not been accurately translated. The Chair considered that the
Sub-Committee had understood the main points of the
submissions.

The
applicant’s representative reported that this was a family
business and they previously had an off licence nearby and lived
five minutes walk away. They understood
the area well. The husband and wife
were both personal licence holders.
They wanted to be different from other shops and were looking to
sell greener, more organic products. A
full refurbishment would be completed in two to three
weeks. There would be four people
working in the premises and their 20 year
old son would be obtaining a personal licence. The applicant had taken on board the concerns of
the interested parties. Conditions had
been agreed.

In response to
questions regarding the impact on the area the representative
reported that conditions were extensive, the licence was requested
in core hours, alcohol was expected to be 15% of the sale, they
wished to sell a different product to provide what the consumer
wanted. The applicants had a clean
record and were serious about what they were doing.

In summary, the
interested party stated that the area would not be able to handle
the number of shops and they would be affected.

RESOLVED

1)
That the application for a new premises licence, in respect of
Newington Park Supermarket, 135 Newington Green Road, N1 4RA be
granted to allow:-

a)
The sale by retail of alcohol, off sales, Mondays to Sundays from
9am until 11pm.

b)
Opening hours to be:- Mondays to Sundays
from 7am until 11pm.

2)
That conditions detailed on page 132 of the agenda shall be applied
to the licence with the following amendment.

Condition 12 to
read. At least two members of staff
shall be on the shop floor between 9pm and 11pm.

REASONS FOR DECISION

The Sub-Committee
listened to all the evidence and submissions and read all the
material. The Sub-Committee reached the decision having given
consideration to the Licensing Act 2003, as amended, and its
regulations, the national guidance and the Council’s
Licensing Policy.